


Prompt #8

by GlitterBombLove



Series: Prompts - 30 Challenge [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Flash Fic, Prompt Fic, Science Fiction, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24765829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitterBombLove/pseuds/GlitterBombLove
Summary: Prompt #8Genre: Science FictionJune 16, 2020Prompt: Do you remember any of it?Source: Original
Series: Prompts - 30 Challenge [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754020





	Prompt #8

"I found you!" Tennis shoes squealed on the school cafeteria floor. 

A few students, including me, looked up from our lunches and saw a teenage boy running through the cafeteria shouting and flailing his arms. He was loud and seemed upset -- babbling so fast and I could only catch snatches like "time stealers" and "broken" and "soon". He was dripping wet even though the day shone sunny and bright outside the school windows. Maybe he was having an understandable meltdown because bullies had hosed him down or shoved him under a running shower in the locker room.

I eyeballed him sympathetically as I chewed my sandwich and flipped through my study notes. I had more than my fair share of being pranked at the beginning of the school year and was so happy when my tormentors grew bored and moved on to making other people's lives miserable. Maybe the boy was one of those other people. Poor guy. But better him than me, I thought with just a little guilt.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I hurried to cram more food in my mouth and study material in my brain before lunch was over. Rumor had it there was going to be a pop quiz in History today. 

"What are you doing there? We've got to go!" The boy halted in front of me. His damp shoes squished and pooled water. 

I searched over my shoulder certain he must be talking to someone behind me. When I saw no one was near us, I frowned and checked him out closer. He was really drenched like he had been swimming with all his clothes on. His hair was plastered to his head and tendrils were actually dripping. A droplet plopped onto my sandwich.

To my irritation, he grabbed an empty chair and flopped down beside me. He stared at me intensely as if waiting for me to say something to him. All I could do was shake my head. He slammed his hands on the tabletop and left wet hand prints. 

A couple of students students snickered at us. I felt my cheeks burn and I scooted my seat a few inches away to distance myself from the craziness. I scoured the lunchroom to see if someone was recording us. This had to be some prank for someone's social media account. 

"I thought I was off the radar," I mumbled. 

"What are you talking about?" He looked confused. 

I shot a dirty look at him and decided to ignore him. I learned the best way to deal with jokers and bullies was to look blase - just deadpan it. In a bored fashion, I flipped through a few pages and began tapping on my keyboard. I pretended he was gone like my concentration. 

He did not budge. 

"Sidney!" He said loudly. "We must go now!"

"Leave me alone." I finally had enough. "You've had your fun. Everyone's staring at us a-a-and you made my sandwich a sponge!" I tossed the wet leftovers into my lunch sack and began packing up my belongings.

He looked genuinely hurt. His eyes glistened and looked teary as if I said the meanest thing in the world to him. For some reason I felt sorry for him.

"Sidney, do you remember any of it? Don't tell me they got to you too!" He said. "Do you remember me? Please, remember me."

He waited and looked like his entire word hinged on my response. I squinted and studied his face. He had what my grandmother would call a kind face but was it familiar to me? 

"Daniel," I said surprising myself. Why did I say the name? It popped into my head out of nowhere with no memories or reference. But it was there.

He brightened and grinned so widely I had to keep myself from returning it. Why did I want to hug him? 


End file.
